Sheet feeding apparatus and image forming system

摘要

A high productivity sheet feeding apparatus in which there is no occurrence of abnormalities related to sheet feeding irrespective of the size and type of sheet, and an image forming system having that sheet feeding apparatus are provided. This sheet feeding apparatus has the feature that it has, a stacking unit for stacking sheets, a conveying unit that is placed above and spaced from said stacking unit and that conveys the sheets, a flotation unit that makes the sheets in the upper part of the sheets stacked in said stacking unit float up towards said conveying unit, and a suction unit that sucks the air included in between the plurality of sheets that have been made to float up towards said conveying unit by said flotation unit.

主权项

1. A sheet feeding apparatus comprising:
a stacking unit for stacking sheets on a stacking member, a conveying unit for conveying sheets, wherein the conveying unit is placed above and spaced from said stacking unit, a flotation unit that floats sheets in an upper part of the sheets stacked in said stacking unit towards said conveying unit, and a suction unit comprising:
a suction inlet positioned underneath the conveying unit and above the stacking member, anda suction device that sucks air from said suction inlet,wherein the suction unit sucks air included in between a plurality of sheets floated by said flotation unit towards said conveying unit,wherein said suction inlet is positioned on a downstream side from the tip end of the sheets stacked in the stacking unit in a direction of sheet conveying by said conveying unit and the suction inlet is opened in a direction perpendicular to the direction of sheet conveying by said conveying unit,wherein said suction inlet is an opening that is provided on a lower side of a separation air blowing outlet that blows air towards said conveying unit, and that extends from a bottom edge of said separation air blowing outlet, in a vertical direction, by prescribed dimensions to a position located above a bottom edge of a flotation air blowing outlet that blows air towards an end surface of an upper part of the sheets stacked in said stacking unit,said separation air blowing outlet is positioned on a downstream side from the tip end of the sheets stacked in the stacking unit in the direction of sheet conveying by said conveying unit, opens in a direction perpendicular to the direction of sheet conveying by said conveying unit, andsaid flotation air blowing outlet opens in a direction parallel to the direction of sheet conveying by said conveying unit.